Suttle Taking To The Changes

Nick Werner

04/09/2008

CHARLESTON, SC - He hit just a combined .102 in stops between the Gulf Coast League late last season and the Hawaiian Winter League, collecting just eight total hits in 32 games overall. Having his swing totally reconstructed, however, Charleston third baseman Bradley Suttle has started to look comfortable with the changes after collecting twelve hits already in the early going.

[Photo by Patrice Scott]

Bradley Suttle has been one of the great stories in this early Riverdogs season. Hitting a scorching .500 early on, Suttle's swing has been re-tooled since working with Riverdogs manager Torre Tyson in the Hawaiian Winter League.

Tyson worked with him as the hitting coach during the short time in Hawaii and Suttle has been working all spring on getting comfortable with his new swing.

"It's going well," said Suttle. "The main things we were working on is hand position and getting a little bit of stride and separation. A lot of that's just repetition and the more repetition I get, the better I'm feeling and right now I'm feeling good."

After failing to collect even one multi-hit game in his first 32 professional games, the former University of Texas third baseman has already amassed five multi-hit games in his first six games with the Riverdogs after notching his second three-hit game of the season on Monday night and his manager can already see huge differences in Suttle's game.

"Its like night and day," opined Tyson. "When I saw him in Hawaii we let him go, not knowing when we were going to see what we wanted to see. And he was real receptive to all the information and made for a much quicker adjustment than I think any of us expected."

Never getting down on himself during his Hawaiian Winter League struggles and also now very tempered in his early season success so far this season, the progress Suttle has made since Hawaii has been measured in his eyes.

"It's been gradual, it's been step by step," he calmly stated. "That's the mindset I had from the beginning: how many swings and how much work I have put in since then trying to work with this stuff.

"Of course I'm going to feel more confident versus in Hawaii, trying to make those adjustments during games, on the run, against the best A-ball players from each organization."

One of the lingering questions regarding Suttle, a switch-hitter, has been his ability to adjust to these new mechanics from both sides of the plate. But his confidence and ability have been quieting those concerns.

"I'm feeling confident both ways," he revealed. "I can't believe I've gotten a lot more at-bats so far this season right-handed, which is real unusual, and I've gotten my left handed at-bats, and I've hit the ball hard a couple times so I'm feeling confident both ways."

Already collecting 15 at-bats against lefties and chipping in with a solid .467 average against them, Suttle has also hit right-handers to the tune of a .556 average and his manager can't decide if Suttle seems more comfortable from a particular side.

"Surprisingly not," said Tyson. "I was a switch-hitter and it's not easy to be sharp from both sides. He looks really comfortable from both sides of the plate.

"From what I saw in Hawaii, he looked a little more comfortable left-handed but now it's the flip of a coin and he looks pretty solid from both sides."

Suttle has been working hard on his defense as well all spring to become a more balanced player, noting that in March he wasn't yet where he wanted to be at the hot corner. So far, he again feels like its gradual progress.

"I'm feeling good defensively and I thought I was a pretty good defensive guy, but I need to work on some specific things and it's coming along."

Getting a bit of an unfair reputation entering the professional ranks as not necessarily a great defensive third baseman, Tyson again seems very convinced of Suttle's ability.

""I think he was the best third baseman in Hawaii, which is saying a lot," he admitted. "So I'm not surprised at all about his defensive ability and what he's shown so far. I think he's going to be a very Matt Williams-like, smooth out there and make every play that he should."

Looking solid on both sides of the ball through the first week of the season, while he is happy about getting off to a good start, Suttle is also reserved about his hot start.

"I don't think I've been hitting lights-out," he said modestly. "The hits have been falling for me early on, so that's all it is."

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\r\n \r\n\r\n[Photo by Patrice Scott]\r\n\r\nBradley Suttle has been one of the great stories in this early Riverdogs season. Hitting a scorching .500 early on, Suttle's swing has been re-tooled since working with Riverdogs manager Torre Tyson in the Hawaiian Winter League.\r\n\r\nTyson worked with him as the hitting coach during the short time in Hawaii and Suttle has been working all spring on getting comfortable with his new swing.\r\n\r\n\"It's going well,\" said Suttle. \"The main things we were working on is hand position and getting a little bit of stride and separation. A lot of that's just repetition and the more repetition I get, the better I'm feeling and right now I'm feeling good.\"\r\n\r\nAfter failing to collect even one multi-hit game in his first 32 professional games, the former University of Texas third baseman has already amassed five multi-hit games in his first six games with the Riverdogs after notching his second three-hit game of the season on Monday night and his manager can already see huge differences in Suttle's game.\r\n\r\n\"Its like night and day,\" opined Tyson. \"When I saw him in Hawaii we let him go, not knowing when we were going to see what we wanted to see. And he was real receptive to all the information and made for a much quicker adjustment than I think any of us expected.\"\r\n\r\nNever getting down on himself during his Hawaiian Winter League struggles and also now very tempered in his early season success so far this season, the progress Suttle has made since Hawaii has been measured in his eyes.\r\n\r\n\"It's been gradual, it's been step by step,\" he calmly stated. \"That's the mindset I had from the beginning: how many swings and how much work I have put in since then trying to work with this stuff.\r\n\r\n\"Of course I'm going to feel more confident versus in Hawaii, trying to make those adjustments during games, on the run, against the best A-ball players from each organization.\"\r\n\r\nOne of the lingering questions regarding Suttle, a switch-hitter, has been his ability to adjust to these new mechanics from both sides of the plate. But his confidence and ability have been quieting those concerns.\r\n\r\n\"I'm feeling confident both ways,\" he revealed. \"I can't believe I've gotten a lot more at-bats so far this season right-handed, which is real unusual, and I've gotten my left handed at-bats, and I've hit the ball hard a couple times so I'm feeling confident both ways.\"\r\n\r\nAlready collecting 15 at-bats against lefties and chipping in with a solid .467 average against them, Suttle has also hit right-handers to the tune of a .556 average and his manager can't decide if Suttle seems more comfortable from a particular side.\r\n\r\n\"Surprisingly not,\" said Tyson. \"I was a switch-hitter and it's not easy to be sharp from both sides. He looks really comfortable from both sides of the plate.\r\n\r\n\"From what I saw in Hawaii, he looked a little more comfortable left-handed but now it's the flip of a coin and he looks pretty solid from both sides.\"\r\n\r\nSuttle has been working hard on his defense as well all spring to become a more balanced player, noting that in March he wasn't yet where he wanted to be at the hot corner. So far, he again feels like its gradual progress.\r\n\r\n\"I'm feeling good defensively and I thought I was a pretty good defensive guy, but I need to work on some specific things and it's coming along.\" \r\n\r\nGetting a bit of an unfair reputation entering the professional ranks as not necessarily a great defensive third baseman, Tyson again seems very convinced of Suttle's ability.\r\n\r\n\"\"I think he was the best third baseman in Hawaii, which is saying a lot,\" he admitted. \"So I'm not surprised at all about his defensive ability and what he's shown so far. I think he's going to be a very Matt Williams-like, smooth out there and make every play that he should.\"\r\n\r\nLooking solid on both sides of the ball through the first week of the season, while he is happy about getting off to a good start, Suttle is also reserved about his hot start.\r\n\r\n\"I don't think I've been hitting lights-out,\" he said modestly. \"The hits have been falling for me early on, so that's all it is.\"\r\n\r\n

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Are you a monthly or 3-month subscriber to PinstripesPlus.com? Why not get two months free AND get 4 issues of our PinstripesPlus Magazine, including our special Yankees Prospects Guide, included by becoming an annual subscriber? Upgrade today to get the most out of your subscription. Time is running out to get the 2008 Yankees Prospects Guide - only a few copies remain!